39–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–328 

GREEN MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT HERITAGE PROTECTION 

ACT 

JANUARY 23 (legislative day of JANUARY 21), 2014.—Committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 908] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 908) to preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National 

Forest, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 908 is to preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie 

National Forest. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Green Mountain Lookout was constructed in 1933 on the 

summit of Green Mountain in Washington state for the purposes 

of fire detection. It was also used to look for enemy aircraft during 

World War II. While the lookout has not been used for fire detection for decades, it has become a favorite destination for day 

hikers. 

Green Mountain Lookout was included within the boundary of 

the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, established by the Washington 

State Wilderness Act of 1984, and was also listed, along with seven 

other lookouts within the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, 

in the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. In June 2002, 

the U.S. Forest Service discovered that the lookout’s foundation 

had failed as a result of heavy snowfall that winter. That August, 


rfrederick on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
2 

the Forest Service disassembled and removed the lookout by helicopter with the intent to replace the foundation and reassemble the 

lookout. Due to funding and other issues, the foundation was not 

replaced until 2009 and the lookout was finally reassembled again 

using helicopters. 

In 2010, the advocacy group ‘‘Wilderness Watch’’ filed a lawsuit 

claiming that the Forest Service’s repairs to the lookout violated 

both the Wilderness Act and the National Environmental Policy 

Act, and sought an injunction that would require removal of the 

lookout. In March 2012, the United States District Court for the 

Western District of Washington ruled in favor of Wilderness Watch 

and instructed the Forest Service to remove the lookout. On May 

2, 2013, the Forest Service published notice in the Federal Register 

of its intent to begin preparing an environmental impact statement 

in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, expecting to begin removing the lookout in summer 2014. 

H.R. 908 would preserve the Green Mountain Lookout by amending the Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984 to retroactively 

ensure that the wilderness designation does not ‘‘preclude the operation and maintenance of the Green Mountain Lookout.’’ The legislation would also prohibit the Forest Service from moving the lookout unless the agency determines that it is necessary ‘‘to preserve 

the lookout or to ensure the safety of individuals on or around 

Green Mountain.’’ 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 908 was introduced on February 28, 2013, by Congresswoman Suzan K. DelBene (D–WA). The bill was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 

Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On 

July 23, 2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On 

July 31, 2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent. No 

amendments were offered, and the bill was then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 


rfrederick on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
3 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 908—Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act 

H.R. 908 would prevent the Forest Service from removing a 

building from the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area in Washington 

state unless the agency determines that the structure is unsafe for 

visitors. Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CBO 

estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant net impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 908 would 

not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

In 2012, a federal court ordered the Forest Service to remove a 

lookout structure from Green Mountain, located in the wilderness 

area. Under the bill, the agency would be authorized to remove the 

structure only if it poses a risk to public safety. Because the lookout was recently reconstructed, CBO expects that, under the bill, 

the agency would allow the structure to remain on the mountain 

for several years. As a result, CBO estimates, the Forest Service 

would not need to spend about $200,000 in appropriated funds to 

remove the structure; the amounts required to maintain the structure over the next five years would be minimal. 

H.R. 908 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required by 

clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. Based on information provided by the Forest 

Service, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would 

have no significant net impact on the federal budget. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National 

Forest. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 


rfrederick on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
4 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

SECTION 4 OF THE WASHINGTON STATE WILDERNESS 

ACT OF 1984 

SEC. 4. (a) * * * 

(b) Subject to valid existing rights, each wilderness area designated by section 3 of this Act shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964 governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness areas, except that with respect to any area designated in 

section 3 of this Act, any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act of 1964 shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this Act)ø.¿, and except that with respect to the lands described in section 3(5), the designation of such 

lands as a wilderness area shall not preclude the operation and 

maintenance of Green Mountain Lookout. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with HEARING